21-day South-Asia trip (2007)

January 25th

Wake up 8am. White House Guesthouse. Probably the best guesthouse in the area judging from between the White, the Kristi and the Panorama.

Breakfast: toast and eggs, coffee $2

Local tour: Doi Suthep -- a local mountain with a temple and Royal Winter Palace atop.

Crafts Market: umbrella making, teak furniture, other crafts

Dinner: rice w/ chicken curry, red-curried river fish, Singha $?

January 27th

Wake up in Panorama Hotel. $13

Bus to Maesariang 6am. $3

I was so excited to be going to my child-hood home-town I didn't notice the quality of bus I hired. It is the "orange bus", the more-or-less public transit for 3 hours. A measuring tape from seat back to knee-front will probably measure no more than two and a half feet. Definitely made for smaller Thai people, not a White Giant like me from the Northern Hinterlands, an exotic species of locale they call in local lore "Kanadaa". Thankyou, kaap.

Arrive in Maesariang. Get lodgings just off scenic river-front. Rent a 100 CC motorcycle for 24 hours: $7 Definitely worth it if you want to tour the town and immediately surrounding environs.

I drove up and down the streets, up to the high end of town, zipped down to the old airport (no longer in operation, but airstrip is still intact). Past the old military HQ - still there; wonder if the bear is still there?

Snack: authentic small-town Thailand kwiteau; served with a wye from the farmers wife.

Afternoon indulgence: Singha Beer, so good on a warm and sunny day

Dinner: fried chicken on a stick, liver on a stick, pork on a stick, bags of yummy sticky rice

The Girls of the Sawasdee were having dinner so I joined them. They were having the food style of their home-province; Issan. Steamed whole fish, steamed vegetagles. Very nice.

Mixed it up with travellers and locals. Without a doubt my best day during the 21-day adventure. Tried the Maesariang rice-whiskey with a lawyer from Singapore named Terence Tan. An interesting chap, he drove up from Sing. in his Austin Mini. Next year we'll have to do the MaeHongson Loop in 1000CC bikes eh Terence?

Happy Bar: rounding out the night at the local kids dance-hall. Thai kids dance around their tables, not on a dance floor. I bought some of the girls beer. They were pretty happy about that. For me, I was 17 and a half again for a few minutes.

Back at the Sawasdee around 1am, there was a staff party next door, so I joined in having a night-cap and a midnight-snack of delicious fried pork made by a gay guy who asked me to bring him back a nice guy from Kanadaa next time I swung 'round. Thankyou kaap.

January 28th

Wake up at NorthWest Guesthouse.

Breakfast:

Rice w/ dark fried eggs & mixed stir-fry vegetables $2.50

Bus to Chiangmai.

Stayed at Kerry's House.

Dinner:

Brown rice, squash soup and dried little-fish.
Singha Beer

After dinner, Mae and I went to Catholic Mass at the Chiangmai cathedral.

January 29th

Wake up 8am.

Shopping at Airport Plaza.
Breakfast: deep fried banana w/ mango ice cream
kau pad kai (Thai style fried rice w/chicken) $4

Teeth-cleaning for 2: $30
The ladies of the dental shop are of an excellent sort. As well as being pretty and cute, they claim to speak as well as Thai, English, Dutch, Swedish, French and German. They are dental hygienists running a private practice specializing in -- teeth cleaning and related repairs. Its like an automechanic's garage, except instead of autos, it is under the hood of human mouth's. Instead of wrenches and drills, it is picks and ... drills. Yikes! Luckily I am cavity-free. Good thing too as it has been 7 years since I have visited an oral hygienist. Oh the service to be had in this Beautiful Kingdom! Will the joys never end?

Lunch: kau soi, 2 servings(Kerry's wife Mae bought it from a lady who lives down the lane - claiming to be 2nd best in Chiangmai)
deep fried bananas (all you can eat) $3

Royal Pavilion Flower Festival:

A full day of sun, flowers, pavilions, flowers, Royal Pavilion and people, people everywhere. The life in Thailand is almost overwhelming to a white-person, so used to open spaces and double-triple elbow room. The Asian people-energy flows peacefully and tranquilly among each other, surrounding the atmosphere with an aura of love. Can I say that? Love.

Dinner: Vietnamese buffet (Kerry's favorite in Chiangmai)
A clean little place near Ratchadoemnearn Road.

Singha beer, Burmese cigarette. Lights out.

January 30th

Wake up 7:30am at Kerry Storey's house. Kellog's CornFlakes for breakfast! - I don't even eat that at home! I guess I had to travel 10,000 miles to get it...one of the beautiful ironies of life.

Second breakfast: Kaopad (Thai-style fried rice) $3

Traditional Thai Massage (1 hour): $5

Haircut, shampoo, rinse, shave: $7

Train to Bangkok: next time take VIP bus. Okay? Or get sleeper cabin.